Sunday’s wreck capped a disastrous week that saw coach Thad Matta’s team lose at Penn State and in Bloomington, Ind. Neither the Nittany Lions nor the Hoosiers are NCAA Tournament teams, and both have losing records in the Big Ten Conference.

Adding insult to injury, Indiana rolled the Buckeyes (22-7, 9-8) without Noah Vonleh, a 6-foot-10 center who is projected to be a NBA lottery pick. Vonleh, who was sidelined by inflammation in his left foot, is the Big Ten’s leading rebounder. Apparently, the Hoosiers didn’t need him against the gang that cannot shoot.

The Hoosiers allowed the Buckeyes 48 points in the paint without Vonleh protecting the rim. But they also outrebounded the Buckeyes, 34-32, and put multiple Ohio State big men in foul trouble by attacking off the dribble. Point guard Yogi Ferrell simply went around OSU’s guards at will.

Matta’s men countered by going inside repeatedly, but it wasn’t enough. Of the 50 points Ohio State scored from the field, only two came from outside the paint. Ohio State shot a surreal 0-of-11 from behind the arc — the first time in 10 years the Buckeyes failed to make a 3-point field goal — and missed a whopping nine free throws (15-of-24).

“We had to get into the lane because we couldn’t make a shot,” Matta said. “We had some good looks, they just didn’t go down. It was just one of those days.”

Actually, it’s been one of those years.

Two losses to Penn State, a bad loss at Indiana and falling to Nebraska for the first time as a Big Ten foe have punctuated the most underachieving OSU squad in recent memory.

This was a veteran squad with six juniors and seniors dotting its top six. The Buckeyes ran out to a 15-0 mark and reached No. 3 in the polls. But, since then, it has played losing basketball, 7-8. Were it not for a top-15 strength of schedule ranking — and a resume that includes road wins at Wisconsin and Iowa — the Buckeyes would be nail-biting an NCAA Tournament bid.

As it stands, Ohio State will miss its first bye at the Big Ten tournament in years and will be hard-pressed to maintain a national-best streak of four consecutive Sweet 16 berths.

It’s an unexpected step back for a program that began the season with such promise, but will end it outside the top 25.

Larry Phillips is the sports editor for the Media Network of Central Ohio. He can be reached at lbphillips@nncogannett.com, or call him at 419-521-7238. Follow him on Twitter:@OhioPrepLegends.